Hieam stevens maxim



VUNiTl-ZD STATI-3s PATENT Ormes.

HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO ALBERT VIOKERS AND ROBERT R. SYMON, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE-GUN.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 321,514-, dated July '7, 1885.

Application tiled May 27, 18S-1. (No model.) Patented in England January 3, 1884, No. 60G, and in France June 13, 188i, No. 162,737,

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HIRAM STnvnNs MAXIM, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of London, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in and relating to Machine Guns and other Fire- Arms, (for which I have obtained a patent in Great Britain, No. 606, bearing date January 3, 1884, and a patent in France dated June 13, 1884, No. 162,731) of which the following is aspecication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to machine or battery guns and other re arms, and is chieiiy designed to enable the breech mechanism to be operated by the explosive and expansive forces ofthe gunpowder, or other explosive material employed for firing the gun.

My said invention comprises further improvements in guns of the class described in the specification filed with my application for United States Patent, dated May 2, 1884, No. 130,166.

According to my present invention I sometimes utilize the force of the gases which issue from the muzzle of the gun at cach discharge thereof for extracting and ejecting the empty cartridge-case, cooking the hammer, bringing another cartridge into position for firing, and iiring the same or preparing the arm for the next discharge, or for effecting one or more of these operations, and (in some eases) storing energy to be subsequently used for efiecting the remainder thereof. Vhen a gun is fired, the gases resulting from the explosion of the gunpowder or other explosive material employed issue from the muzzle ofthe said gun with great velocity, and thereby cause a vacvnum or partial vacuum around the muzzle end of the barrel; and one object of my present invention is to provide means whereby the breech mechanism will be operated by the vacuum thus formed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal central section of a gun constructed according to my present improvements. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same, partly in section, on the line x x, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line y y, Fig. 1, looking toward the right. Fig. et is a transverse section on the line g/y, Fig. l, looking toward the muzzle of the gun.

A is a strong metal frame, which is provided with a lid or cover, A', and which may be mounted on any suitable stand or carriage.

B is the barrel, which is iixed in. the frame A, and C is the breech-block.

a is a tube or tubularehamber, which is secured to the frame A, and which surrounds the barrel B. The tubular chamber a communicates with another chamber, b, near the rear end of the barrel, and is provided with a sliding portion, e,'which can be made to project more or less beyond the muzzle of the gun in such a manner that the escape of the gases therefrom will cause a vacuum or partial vacuum to be formed in the said chambers each time the gun is fired.

c is a piston so fitted in the chamber b that the pressure of the external atmosphere will act thereon when a vacuum is formed, as above described, and will cause the said piston to travel rearwardly in the said chamber. The piston c is provided with two flat rods or bars,

"0', passing through apertures in the l'rame A,

which serves to guide the said rods. These rods are connected, as hereinafter described, to the mechanism for loading and firing the gun.

d is a slotted arm or cross-head, which is xcd to or formed integrally with the breechblock O, and which is provided with a guiderod, d', extending rearwardly therefrom, and free to slide to and fro in a guide, d2, carried bythe frame A. A crankshaft, e, is carried in bearings e, fixed to the frame A, and is so arranged that thc crank-pin c2 fits within the slot in the cross-head d. Two arms, j", are fixed to the crank e at right angles thereto, and a pin or rod,f, is passed through these arms and connected by the linksf2 to the rear end ofthe two piston rods c. \Vhen the piston rods are moved rearwardly, the crank cis partially rotated until the crank-pin reaches the point 0*, the said crank acting upon the cross-head d so as to draw back the breechblock and the crank-pin traveling in the slot in t-he said cross-head. The crank shaft e is made with a square portion to receive a handwheel, e, for operating the breech mechanism by hand.

lCO

g is the extractor, and h the sear, which are both pivoted to the breech-block G, and h* is a spring fixed to the said sear and tending to hold the extractor g in engagement with the flange of a cartridge when the latter is inserted in the barrel. This spring also tends to hold the sear h down so that it will engage with the firing-pin The said firing-pin passes longitudinally through the center of the breech-block C, and is encircled by a spiral spring, i', which tends to press the same forward. The said firing-pin is provided at its rear end with a head, fi?, which hasaknifeedge and a roller, i3, carried by a pin fixed in the said head. A lever, j, is pivoted to the cross-head d, one end of which lever extends upward between the said knife-edge and the roller and the other end of which extends downward into the path of the crank-pin c2. These parts are so arranged that during the rearward movement of the cross-head d the crank-pin e2 acts upon the lever j and causes it to draw back the firing-pin z' until the sear 71, which is acted upon by the spring 7*, engages with the head yi2 of the said firing-pin and holds the same in its cocked position. Then the sear thus falls into engagement with the firing-pin, the extractor gis disengaged from the flange of the cartridge or cartridge-case in the barrel.

The feed-wheels Q Q are similar to those described in the specification filed with my said former application for Letters Patent, and are operated in a similar manner, the hooked rod K for removing o'r transferring the cartridges from the feed-wheel Q to the feed-wheel Q being fixed to the cross-head d.

The return movement of the piston c and parts connected therewith is caused by a volute spring, r, like an ordinary clock-spring.

This spring is arranged within a cover or case, 7s, to which one end of the said spring is secured, the other end thereof being secured to the crank-shaft c. The cover or case 7c is attached to the fra-me A by screws, k2, passing through the slots k3, and the said cover or case is provided with a handle, r, so that it can be adjusted in either direction to regulate the tension of the spring k. By these means the tension of the 4spring can be so diminished that after the breech-block and other parts have been moved backward by the force ofthe explosion the said spring will not cause their return movement. The gun can then be discharged, when desired, by turning the handle It* in the opposite direction.

The operation of this gun is as followsthat is to say: The mechanism is operated by hand until a cartridge is fed into the barrel. The discharge of this cartridge causes the piston c to move backward in the chamber b, as above described, the breech -block and parts connected therewith moving with the said piston. In this rearward movement the extractor g withdraws the empty cartridge-case from the barrel l into the uppermost groove of the feed wheel Q', and the crank-pin traveling downward inthe slotted cross-head d, acts upon the leverj and draws back the firing-pin fi, until the sear h falls and its shoulder h engages with the shoulder fi of the firing-pin. The downward movement of the scar h disengages the extractor g from the flange of the cartridge case. The rearward movement of the hooked rod K draws a cartridge from the uppermost groove of the feed-wheel Q into thelowermost groove of the feed-wheel Q', and the projection I on the breech-block acts upon one of the teeth of the feed-wheel Q', and causes the partial rotation ofthe feed-wheels, as described in the specification above referred to. The energy stored up in the spring k by the partial rotation of the crank e then causes the piston c and the breech block and parts connected therewith to move forward. This forward movement causes the feed-wheels Q Q to be again partially rotated by the projection C5, so as to bring a fresh cartridge in line with the barrel, and also to bring a fresh cartridge in the feed-wheel Qin line with the lowermost groove ofthe feed-wheel Q. The breech-block is moreover driven home-that is to say, driven firmly against the breech end ofthe barrel--and in its forward movement forces the cartridge into the barrel, and at the moment the breech is closed the crank-pin c2 is forced against the end of the scar 7L and pushes the same up, so as to release thefiring-pin t', which is acted upon by the spring t" and discharges the cartridge in the barrel. This movement of the sear also causes the extractor g to engage with the flange of the said cartridge. The discharge of the fresh cartridge again operates the mechanism in the manner above described. It will therefore be understood that after the first discharge the fire-arm operates automatically until all the cartridges in the magazine or in the feed-wheels are fired.

It is obvious that my invention may be applied to various descriptions of fire arms, either for storing energy to be subsequently used for effecting the operations necessary in loading and firing the same, or preparing the arm for the next discharge, or for directly effecting one or more of these operations and storing energy to be afterward used for effecting the remainder of the said operations.

I claiml. In a machine or magazine gun, the combination, with the barrel, of a chamber lo` cated in proximity to the barrel, with its open end near the muzzle, so that the escape of gases at each discharge will produce a partial vacuum in the chamber, a piston in the chamber adapted to be moved by the air-pressure caused by the vacuum, a sliding breech-block and breech mechanism, and connections be` tween the piston and breech mechanism, whereby the movement of the piston operates the said breech mechanism, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a machine or magazine gun, a casing ICO IlO

surrounding the barrel and forming a chamber in the open end of which is the muzzle of the barrel, so that a partial vacuum will be produced in the chamber by the escape of gases at each discharge, and a piston in said chamber adapted to be moved by the airpressure caused by the vacuum, combined and connected with a sliding breech-block, and the breech mechanism co-operating therewith, whereby the movement of the piston sets in operation the breech mechanism, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a machine or magazine gun,a chamber located in proximity to the barrel, and having its open end near the muzzle ofthe barrel, so that a partial vacuum willbe produeedin the chamber by the escape of gases at each discharge, and a vpiston within said chamber adapted to be moved by the air-pressure caused by the vacuum, combined and connected with a sliding breech-block and co operating breech mechanism, and a device, such as a volute spring, connected to the frame of the gun and to the breech-block,for storing the energy developed by themovement of the piston and forcing it back, and thereby effecting the operation of the gun.

4. In a machine-gun, the combination,with a chamber located in proximity to the barrel, and having its open end near the muzzle, so that a partial vacuum will be produced in the chamber by the escape of gases at each discharge, of piston C, working in the chamber, breech mechanism, and a crank-shaft with a volute spring, k, operatively connected with said breech mechanism, and connections between the piston C and the breech mechanism, whereby a movement of the piston sets the breech mechanism into operation, as set forth.

5. In a machine-gun, a chamber located relatively to the muzzle, so that a partial vacuum is produced therein by the escape of gases at each discharge, and a piston working iu said chamber, in combination with a slotted crosshead, d, and crank-shaft c, a spring, 7c, operating on said crankshaft, the breech-block C, connected with the cross-head, and a hooked arm, K, these parts being constructed and combined for operation in substantially the manner described.

6. The breech mechanism consisting of the slotted cross-head d, crankshaft e, and crankpin e", in combination with the breech-block, the ring-pin i, (having the head formed with a knife-edge, and provided with roller,

713,) and the arm j, pivoted to the cross-head, these parts being constructed and arranged in substantially the manner set forth.

7. In amagazine-gun, the combinatiomwith the breech-block, the cross-head d, and crankshaft for operating the same, of the arm j, pivoted to the cross-head, the firing-pin t, the sear 71 extractor g, and spring lit, carried by the breech-block, and arranged tobe operated by the crankpin e2, substantially as set forth.

8. In a machine-gun of the kind described, the combination, with the breech-block and a crank-shaft for imparting a to-and-fro movement to the same, of a volute spring, L, connected to the crank-shaft, and a cover adjustably secured to the frame of the gun for regulating the tension of said spring, as and for the purpose specied.

9. In a machine-gun of the kind described, the combination, with the breech-block, the cross-head d, connected therewith, and the crank-shaft c, for imparting movement to the cross-head, of the volute spring k, connected with the crank-shaft, and the adjustable cover or case k',for varying the tension of the spring, as set forth.

l0. In a machine-gun, thecombination of a sliding breech-block, the cross-head connected therewith, the crank-shaft E, for imparting movement to the cross-head, a chamber containing a piston connected with the crankshaft, the said chamber being placed in proximity to the barrel, and having its open end near to the muzzle, and a hand-wheel on the crank-shaft for starting the gun in operation, as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM.

Vitnesses:

JOHN DEAN, GEO. J. B. FRANKLIN, Both Qf 17 Grace/church Si., London. 

